Perfect Strategy
by hexterah
Summary: Lourd and Ienzo have a little short sniping back and forth before one is called out of room. They're more similar than they think. One-poster/short story. Written: 04/10/2006


**Author's Note: **I'm always one for the unlikely pairings, so a Luxord/Zexion thing was definitely going to be something I was going to write. And here is my only adventure into Kingdom Hearts fanfiction ever. Hehe. Written: 04/10/2006.

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**Perfect Strategy**

They were torn and tattered, scratches here, rips there. But they were his favorite deck. He _always_ played with them. He was a strategist by heart, always looking for a logical or clever way to fight any battle he had, mentally or physically.

It was what drew him to Ienzo, who was the same way.

As he shuffled the deck of cards, he could feel Ienzo's eyes on him from across the room where he had seated himself. Right leg draped over the arm of the chair, left leg sprawled out ahead of it. His arms were up, hands locked behind his head. The boy was pale. He could tell this by the sliver of skin between the hem of his pants and where his shirt was riding up -- not that he couldn't tell by his arms or his face -- but seeing his stomach just drove the fact home.

Ienzo knew he had been looking and tilted his head a little, his voice coming out in a soft, strangely comforting fashion. "What is it, Lourd?"

"Ya buttoned your shirt wrong this morning." Lourd continued to shuffle, not hiding the fact that his eyes were on Ienzo now.

Lazily peering down, Ienzo's azure eyes grew wide for a split second before returning to their normal relaxed state. "Fancy that. I skipped a button." Shifting his head back again, one of his hands lashed out and grabbed the puzzle cube that had been sitting on the opposite arm of the chair from his leg. He began fiddling with it, not bothering to notice the fact that Lourd, was in fact, still watching him -- hands shifting over the stack of cards and stopping.

"Aren't ya gonna fix it?" Lourd could admit to himself that it was bothering him slightly, the one lonely button at the bottom of Ienzo's shirt. He didn't want to admit that sometimes he was slightly obsessive-compulsive, a perfectionist.

But Ienzo seemed to be fairly perfect to Lourd -- and an off-kilter button didn't sit right with his image of the young man.

"Do I have to?" Ienzo dropped the puzzle cube in his lap, the sides already solved within a matter of seconds.

Lourd was caught off guard by Ienzo's sudden backlash, which set something off inside him and he stood, straightening the stack of cards before pacing across the room to the ornate chair Ienzo had decorated with his lanky body. He towered over the young man, kicking the heel of the booted foot that sat on the floor aside. That was the first flash of any sort of feeling or emotion Lourd had seen on Ienzo's face -- a flash of slight pain, or shock. "Fine. If ya won't. I will."

With those words, Lourd didn't even give Ienzo and chance before he leaned over slightly, his swift fingers working over the buttons on the front of the other's shirt. Slouched in the chair, Ienzo watched the top of Lourd's head, a hint of a smile snaking across his lips. He found the perfectionist in this man quite endearing. His lips pursed, a few short breaths slipping between them and shifting his pale cerulean bangs a bit he moved slightly, sitting up a bit as Lourd arrived at the bottom button. Ienzo slid his leg off of the arm of the chair, the boot landing on the other side of Lourd as he pushed himself out of the chair, up towards the other man.

His shirt opened as he did, revealing his pale chest, which drew a halted gasp from Lourd.

They were inches away from each other but nothing could tear Lourd's eyes away from the scar that dug itself down Ienzo's chest, across the left side.

Seconds passed, minutes, hours, who knew?

"See something you like?" Ienzo knew exactly what Lourd was thinking, and he was waiting for the man to stammer out a question about it.

"The experiments..." He looked up to Ienzo, whose face was as cool and collected as ever and he almost got lost in those oceanic depths that the young man called 'eyes' -- he brought himself to finish, feeling a tad more unstable than he ever wanted to feel. "They've started?"

Ienzo moved his right arm upwards and slid it behind Lourd's neck, shifting his head down to look once more at the scar. "Does it look like they have?"

Lourd could only blink before peering back to Ienzo's expressionless mask.

"Are you going to button my shirt?" The young man's hand slid slowly off of Lourd's neck, causing the hairs to stand up on end. Both hands went to his hips as he shifted slightly, the two still inches away from each other.

With a sudden sneer, Lourd lowered himself and hastily began buttoning Ienzo's shirt -- the correct way. The silence that accompanied this was shattered as Elaeus entered the room, his expression not even shifting the tiniest bit at what he walked in on.

"Ansem wants you, Ienzo." His voice was deep, gruff -- comforting to Ienzo, who waved a hand lazily.

"I'll be there in a moment. Thank you."

Elaeus left, shutting the door as Lourd was finishing with the top button. Ienzo's fingers danced their way up, where Lourd's hands had just clasped the button together. Ienzo pushed them away and ripped the button open. "I always leave the top on undone."

Lourd's smirk stuck on his face as his eyes burned into the other's -- still, he couldn't help but admire the little bastard.

"I just wanted to make you aware of that in case you ever had to dress me again." Ienzo slipped out from between the spot between the chair and Lourd, who had his fists clenched at his sides.

His eyes followed Ienzo to the door, followed his hand as he flipped random strands of hair from his face, and followed his hips as they pushed the door shut on the way out. Lourd was definitely surprised by the last statement made by Ienzo, before he sauntered out of the room. That was when his eyes caught the puzzle cube that was knocked to the floor when Ienzo slinked to a standing position in front of him.

Ienzo was known for his odd tactics, the way he caught scents, the way he observed things, the way he used the smallest facts against people, they way he would blend in and just _watch_. Ienzo liked to play with people's mind -- he was a manipulator.

And as Lourd picked up the solved puzzle cube and turned it over in his hands -- he realized that maybe Ienzo had just taught him a little lesson in strategy.

"Catch them off guard," Lourd mumbled under his breath, letting the puzzle cube drop to the floor. It bounced under the chair as Lourd turned back to his cards at the table, silently cursing himself for being so oblivious.


End file.
